{"id":11200,"date":"2026-05-29T23:38:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=11200"},"modified":"2026-05-29T23:38:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:38:57","slug":"maintaining-a-healthy-heart-may-require-regular-doses-of-positivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/maintaining-a-healthy-heart-may-require-regular-doses-of-positivity\/","title":{"rendered":"Maintaining a healthy heart may require regular doses of positivity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Positive psychology interventions such as mindfulness, gratitude journaling and optimism training can consistently improve blood pressure, inflammation markers and other cardiovascular disease risk factors within a matter of weeks, a recent study<\/a> found. However, since these benefits are associated with lifestyle changes such as eating healthier and greater physical activity, the researchers suggested that ongoing reinforcements may be needed to stay on course long term.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosalba (Rose) Hernandez, a professor of\u00a0social work\u00a0at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, led a team that analyzed the findings of 18 randomized controlled trials that used positive psychological and mindfulness interventions to enhance mental or physical health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The programs that the team reviewed included individual methods \u2014 such as structured telephone sessions, journaling with brief check-ins and digital platforms such as apps and text messaging \u2014 and interactive in-person group sessions, as well as hybrid formats that blended these with online tools and virtual meetings. Most of the programs consisted of weekly sessions and at-home activities that reinforced the skills taught, with the majority of programs lasting from six to 12 weeks, the team found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, the programs included 50-200 adults with elevated cardiovascular risk factors such as uncontrolled hypertension, heart failure or other conditions. Typically, the participants were in their late 50s to mid-60s, and women comprised 35-55% of the samples across those studies that reported their participants\u2019 gender, according to the researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn hypertension and postacute coronary syndrome cohorts, mindfulness-based programs delivered over an eight-week period reduced systolic blood pressure and lowered inflammatory markers such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and fibrinogen,\u201d said Hernandez, who is a Fellow of the American Heart Association. \u201cA 12-week spirituality-based digital intervention achieved one of the largest reductions \u2014 reducing systolic blood pressure measured with a standard cuff by 7.6 points, and central systolic pressure \u2014 which is measured in the aorta as it leaves the heart \u2014 by 4.1 points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In prior research on positive psychology interventions, scientists seldom defined the dose that was needed to obtain the beneficial effects, Hernandez said. She and the team members sought to clarify the frequency and duration that was most likely to improve individuals\u2019 cardiovascular health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Programs that had more frequent contact with their participants yielded the most consistent physiological benefits, underscoring the opportunity to embed positive psychological strategies into long-term cardiovascular care, Hernandez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team found that the strongest behavioral improvements were achieved by an eight-week program delivered over WhatsApp that combined weekly sessions with daily microtasks, motivating participants to engage in greater physical activity, eat a healthier diet and take their medication as prescribed. A program that included motivational interviewing succeeded in increasing cardiac patients\u2019 levels of physical activity by 1,800 steps a day and their medication adherence, while the mindfulness programs improved participants\u2019 activity levels and diets only, according to the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe therapeutic dose that was most consistently linked with improvements in blood pressure, inflammation and endothelial function was daily practice reinforced by weekly sessions over eight to 12-week periods,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cTherapeutic dosing typically involved high-frequency dosing over this time period to obtain short-term physiologic benefits, while ongoing less-intensive contact may be needed to sustain behavioral change.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Published in the journal Cardiology Clinics, the study was co-written by University of South Florida social work professor\u00a0Soonhyung Kwon;\u00a0Alyssa M. Vela, a professor of surgery and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; and\u00a0Katharine S. Edwards, a professor of cardiovascular medicine and of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Stanford Medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe findings of this study further point to the importance of attending to mental and behavioral health for cardiovascular disease prevention and cardiovascular health optimization,\u201d Vela said. \u201cThis speaks to the need for routine screening and integration of cardiac behavioral medicine to allow for access to important interventions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current study adds to a growing body of research linking psychological well-being \u2014 including traits such as optimism, positive affect and gratitude \u2014 with cardioprotective benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The findings of this study further point to the importance of attending to mental and behavioral health for cardiovascular disease prevention and cardiovascular health optimization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11201,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2559,640,1968,2048,19,2218,20],"class_list":["post-11200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsmakers","tag-cardiorespiratory-fitness","tag-cardiovascular-disease","tag-cardiovascular-problems","tag-good-life","tag-health","tag-high-life","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11200"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11202,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11200\/revisions\/11202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}